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In Nordic European countries, notably Norway, Sweden and Finland, Biogas is being adopted as a fuel source for both vehicles and power plants.

Sweden has already made use of it in municipal buses, while a similar program in Norway’s capital of Oslo has already seen around one-third of its municipal bus fleet switch to biogas.

In Finland, meanwhile, cogeneration power plants are under construction, which will use Biogas to generate both heat and electricity, providing not only power to local towns and cities but also heat for boiling water and keeping buildings warm, via district steam networks.

Biogas has been said to make a lot of sense because the methane generated from the natural decay of foods is highly combustible and also widely abundant sources can be found almost anywhere. Also, unlike some other alternative fuel sources, it can rely on existing infrastructure including internal combustion engines and fuel delivery systems to make it an effective energy source.

As a result, it’s gaining ever-increasing interest from entrepreneurs and investors, since the returns on technology that uses Biogas are seen to be rather significant.

In Norway’s case, using biogas to fuel buses could result in savings of four million liters in diesel each year, contributing significantly toward goals of energy independence.

Based on these initiatives and the results they appear to be yielding, have we found a significant source of energy to help toward a truly sustainable future? Quite possibly, though it will be interesting to see how these pilot programs fare over the next few years and if the concept of using biogas becomes significantly more widespread.